State Sen. Goeff Hansen, R-Hart, is taking the lead on the legislation that will help solve the Detroit Public Schools’ crippling $515-million debt, but he said he expects only to have bills introduced this year, but no votes.

“We’re getting really close. We’ve made some pretty significant changes and we’re just trying to finalize some language now,” he said. “We should have it in by the end of the session, the end of the year.”

Splitting the district into two entities: a "new" and "old" district, as a way to pay off DPS's massive debt and add extra oversight in areas like finances, school placement and school performance.

Tap the School Aid Fund, or some other source of state funding, to the tune of $715 million or $70 million a year for the next 10 years to fund the new Detroit Community School District. The money would make up for the revenue from an 18-mill tax that would be diverted to the old district to pay off DPS's debt.

Also in the mix is where the money will come from to pay down the DPS debt and whether a locally elected school board would play any meaningful role in the administration of DPS.

“We’re looking at all forms of revenues now,” Hansen said, including a $50-million undesignated pot of money in the School Aid Fund that was included in the latest budget, tobacco settlement money and general fund dollars. “You’ve got to look at everything, but I would like to find a way without putting too much pressure on the rest of the state.”

What probably won't be in the revenue stream is tapping the state's rainy day fund, which has a balance of about $500 million, said Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive.

Hansen was mum on the details of the bills as they’re being drafted, calling the issue too “volatile” to risk sabotaging the package by releasing information before his fellow legislators are brought up to date.

“You’ve got the Democratic caucus, the Republican caucus, the Governor’s office, DPS, the charters; you’ve got to balance the wants and needs of everyone,” he said.

On the energy front, a vote on bills in the House is not expected this week and the Senate doesn’t plan on taking up the issue yet this year.

“It’s not going to happen by the end of the year,” said Meekhof. “But it’s one of our priorities, so it will be the first part of next year.”

The House bills, which are awaiting action by the full House, would:

Keep the 10% choice market in place, but require alternative energy suppliers — most of whom buy their energy from other suppliers and then sell that energy to customers at a discounted rate — to prove that they’ll have electric capacity three to five years in the future.

Add a stipulation that if a customer wants to move from the 10% alternative market to the established big utilities, like DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, that they have to stay with that utility for at least 15-20 years.

Set a goal, but not a mandate, for utilities to reach 30% of their electricity capacity by 2025 through renewable sources, like wind and solar power, as well as through efficiency programs and through cutting back on “energy waste.”

Provide incentives to utilities to expand their energy efficiency programs

"The sooner we get it passed the better. But as long-term energy policy goes, it’s better to get it right than to just pass something to pass it," said state Rep. Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton, the chairman of the House Energy and Technology Committee. "This gives the members the time to see what’s in the legislation and for me to answer any questions they might have."

The lack of action didn’t stop the intense lobbying on both sides of the issue. Groups aligned with the two big utilities in the state, which support the House plan, talked with reporters Monday and said passing the bill by the end of the year is crucial.

“If we don’t get this legislation passed this week, where is this state going to be?” said Patrick (Shorty) Gleason, Legislative Director for the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council. “We’re not going to have affordable, reliable energy at our fingertips. If you import electricity, you’re exporting jobs.”

James Clift, policy director for the Michigan Environmental Council, said the package does not address concerns about the cost of electricity. He said the bills would result in higher costs for retail customers and under the House bills, retail customers will subsidize industrial customers by $150 million a year.

The state’s biggest utilities — Consumers Energy and DTE Energy — will be closing nine coal-fired plants by April 15 as a result of the age of the plants and EPA regulations which make coal-based energy cost prohibitive. Consumers has purchased a plant in Jackson and DTE has purchased two plants in Carson City and East China, to partially make up for the loss of energy from the shuttered coal plants. But neither utility has concrete plans for fully replacing the lost power generation until the legislation takes a final form.